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Villagers reluctant to voice true concerns in public consultation meeting with June Cement Ltd.

June 21, 2019

HURFOM: On June 15th 2019, June Cement Industry Ltd. hosted a public consultation meeting in Mae Ga Row village, Kyaikmayaw Township, Mon State. The meeting was held to inform villagers living near June Cement’s operations of the company’s proposed work plan, and to solicit feedback from villagers. The company’s operations are located in the Mount Pyar Taung region of Kyaikmayaw Township, home to the controversial Mawlamyine Cement Limited (MCL) factory.

Apart from villagers, those in
attendance included Mon State lawmakers, officials from the Kyaikmayaw Township
General Administration Department, and officials from the Department of
Agriculture Land Management and Statistics.

“Today, [June Cement]
organized a public consultation meeting in the common hall of the Mae Ga Row
monastery. They provided information about their cement factory, and their
plans to level some of the land they’ve purchased so they can build a jetty and
an artificial canal. After this, they asked villagers if they had any questions
or feedback,” said Nai Tun Kyi, member of a civilian committee responsible
for monitoring all large-scale investment projects in the Mount Pyar Taung
region.

“The company already has
permission from above [the Union government], so villagers only asked who will
take responsibility for any negative impacts from the project, how the company
will power the project, and if stone mining will destroy religious sites on the
mountain,” Nai Tun Kyi continued.

As stated by officials from June
Cement, there are no immediate plans to complete construction of the cement
factory, but they hope to soon complete the construction of a jetty and a
canal. Company officials also pledged to minimize the intensity of blasting
when mining for limestone, and revealed that the factory will be powered by a
coal-fired power station. To assuage concerns about the potential impact that a
coal-fired power plant could have on the local environment, officials told the
audience they had a plan in place to minimize any negative effects, but did not
provide any details.

Though villagers may have
legitimate concerns about the potential health and environmental impacts of a
coal-fired power plant, as evidenced by HURFOM in 2017, attendees are reported not to
have voiced opposition to the project. Given that June Cement has already
secured permission to proceed with operations, and that villagers were in the
presence of authorities, there are fears that opposition may discourage
authorities from pursuing future development projects in the Mount Pyar Taung
region.

“The cement project was
already agreed upon by the authorities and the company. If we oppose the
project, the authorities may misunderstand us…they may think we are against
development. We only asked questions based on the information they gave us,”
said Nai Tun Kyi.

With an investment of US $471
million, June Cement will produce 5,000 tons of cement per day once its factory
has entered full operation. The Myanmar Investment Commission gave June
Cement permission to operate in March 2015.

Currently, the Myanmar-Korea
Cement Group (Zaykabar
Company Ltd.), Mawlamwyine Cement Ltd., and June Cement Industry Ltd.
operate mining activities on the limestone-rich Mount Pyar Taung. When
considering the impact of MCL’s operations on
the environment,
further environmental degradation resulting from the transport of more cement
and the operation of a second coal-fired power station in the region will only
compound the difficulties already encountered by villagers in the region.